THE STAR

‘Four Equals One:' Cowboys D-Line Motivated by New Slogan

Cowboys unproven defensive line will attack quarterbacks in waves

"Four Equals One" is the new slogan for the Cowboys defensive line.

Coordinator Rod Marinelli is preaching it and the players are openly talking about it at the Star.

It symbolizes the idea that one guy can't apply the proper quarterback pressure by himself, and it takes all four lineman on every play.

"You can't rush as a Lone Ranger," said Marinelli. "It's not one guy rushing, it's all eight."

And by eight, he means Benson Mayowa, Cedric Thornton, Tyrone Crawford, Jack Crawford, Maliek Collins, David Irving, Terrell McClain and Kyle Wilber who has moved from linebacker to defensive end. This group has an unproven track record in terms of sacks. Believe it or not, Orlando Scandrick is the team's current leader in career sacks.

Marinelli said that he'll rotate defensive lineman more than ever because he doesn't have a double-digit sack guy right now. It doesn't mean that one of these players can get there, but the coordinator is going with strength in numbers; quantity over quality.

Marinelli has gone two years without a double-digit sack producer, the most in his career. Jason Hatcher was the last two to it in 2013. DeMarcus Lawrence is the team's most capable rusher to get 10-plus sacks, but he's suspended for the first four games of the season.

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